Charted: America's at-home economics
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Details from Thursday's first-quarter GDP report show a snapshot of how the world has changed over the last few years.
Why it matters: The COVID-era focus on home-buying, home optimization and remodeling is an example of the remarkable changes that occurred in the American economy and individual behavior over the last couple of years.
State of play: Residential fixed investment activity — a category of the GDP report that includes everything from constructing new homes and apartment buildings to remodeling and alterations — surged in the aftermath of COVID and has remained above pre-pandemic levels.
- In contrast, recreation services activity — which encompasses gambling, museums and movies, among other activities — plummeted at the onset of the pandemic and still hasn't completely recovered.
What we're watching: How long it takes for the flurry of investment in housing to die down in the face of sharply higher mortgage rates.
